Summer is coming, along with the time to leave for holidays. Many people will drive their cars to their travel destinations, but the increase in the number of cars that are going to run on Italian streets and headways might result also in a higher risk of car accidents. Summer has always been the worst time of the year as far as car accidents are concerned, and although the data concerning the number of victims of car accidents in Italy in summer 2010 reveal a certain decrease in comparison to the past, alert is still high. For although victims and accidents are decreasing, this does not mean that the problem is solved. According to the data gathered by the traffic police and Carabinieri, the number of accidents in Italy in the summer of 2009 has decreased by 6% in comparison to 2009, and also the number of victims has decreased by 12% in comparison to the precedent year. Positive data, which reveal a trend towards the decrease of car accidents in Italy in summer, but this does not mean that car drivers are allowed to let their guard down: in summer they should pay even more attention than in other times of the year.
But why are summer months so dangerous for the people who travel on Italian streets? The increase in the number of accidents in summer is certainly due to the fact that more people drive their car in this season: more cars imply more possibilities to have an accident. Moreover, many of the people that drive in summer also for long routes are not always expert drivers, in the sense that throughout the year they are used to drive only for shorter routes, and a certain inexperience, together with the weariness that a long travel can cause, can result in a higher risk of accidents. Another factor that is not to be underestimated is alcohol: on holiday people tend to drink more, and many people drive even after having drunk a lot of alcoholic drinks, in spite of the limits imposed by the highway code. And overindulging in drink is one of the main causes of accidents also in times other than summer: the data spread by ACI (Italian Car Club) and Diageo reveal that about half of car accidents are in some way connected to the excessive use of alcoholic drinks.
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In order to contrast the problem of car accidents in summer, which is the cause of thousands of victims and injured people, many campaign are organised every year to inform drivers on the risks for street travellers and persuade them to be careful. Also the increase of controls can act as a deterrent and convince car drivers to pay more attention and to drive in a safer way, but what is certain is that street safety depends above all by the conscience of every driver, who has to pay attention, respect the highway code and learn to know his/her limits, to understand when it is better to stop because of weariness or not to exaggerate with alcohol.
